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NOAA DSCOVR Now Set To Launch February 10

Image Credit: NASA

February 9, 2015 – The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) now is scheduled to launch at 4:05 p.m. MST Tuesday, February 10 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. There is a backup launch opportunity at 4:03 p.m. MST on Wednesday, February 11.

NASA Television coverage of Tuesday’s launch will begin at 3 p.m MST.

Following a launch scrub on Sunday, officials from NOAA, the U.S. Air Force and NASA chose February 10 for the next launch attempt because of more favorable weather forecasts for Tuesday and Wednesday compared to Monday. While it is not required for flight, SpaceX will leverage the extra time to replace a video transmitter on the first stage in advance of the next attempt.

DSCOVR is a partnership between NOAA, NASA and the U.S. Air Force. DSCOVR will maintain the nation’s solar wind observations, which are critical to the accuracy and lead time of NOAA’s space weather alerts, forecasts, and warnings. Space weather events like geomagnetic storms, caused by changes in solar wind, can affect public infrastructure systems such as power grids, telecommunications systems, and aircraft avionics.